That said, UFC president Dana White would still like to see him make the move to featherweight, especially for a bout against 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo (20-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

“Honestly, I’d like to see [Edgar] move to 145 and fight Aldo,” White said following Saturday night’s UFC 136 post-event press conference at Houston’s Toyota Center.

It’s perhaps a strange suggestion, especially since Edgar had just moments earlier scored a dramatic, come-from-behind fourth-round TKO over Gray Maynard, one of the largest men in the UFC’s 155-pound division. But White said he simply believes Edgar would ultimately be better served by competing in a more natural weightclass.

“All these other guys that [Edgar] fights are so much bigger than him,” White said. “I think that fighting out of your weightclass isn’t healthy. I don’t think it’s healthy long-term.

“I don’t think that guys that fight out of their weightclass and fight a weightclass above them and take damage can have the longevity that other fighters can have. I think when you fight with guys that are your own size, you don’t take the punishment that you take when you fight bigger guys.”

Edgar may beg to differ, especially when pointing back to wins over former UFC champions B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk. White admits Edgar’s seven-fight unbeaten streak does indeed make it a little difficult to pressure “The Answer” to change divisions.

“I’m not going to make him do it,” White said. “Who am I to say, ‘Yeah, you can’t stay here. You beat everybody in this division’? It’s a tough argument to have with him.”

Edgar and his camp will soon decide what lies in his future. The lightweight champ did admit he was open to suggestions from the UFC president, but he’s got a coach-mandated two-week vacation to enjoy first. If Edgar doesn’t decide to move down and face Aldo, White said undefeated up-and-comer Chad Mendes would likely be the next challenger for the featherweight title. If he does make the drop and square off with the Brazilian champ, White said Edgar will have to vacate the 155-pound title.

If Edgar elects to stay at lightweight, the winner of November’s Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson fight would seem to be the logical choice for his next opponent, especially with Melvin Guillard’s UFC 136 loss to Joe Lauzon. Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez would also prove a fine opponent, but White seemed to suggest that ongoing negotiations between company brass and Strikeforce’s broadcast partners at Showtime will make that impossible.

Regardless, White said Edgar’s win deserves much praise. Just like when the two met in January, Edgar was pummeled in the opening round. And just like the previous meeting, the champ again battled through adversity, this time netting a fourth-round finish. With the courage shown in thos two memorable battles, White believes Edgar is one-of-a-kind in MMA history.

“Think about all the fights that we’ve seen over the past 10 years or how many fights you’ve seen in your life where a guy goes out and gets hurt as bad as he did in the first round,” White said. “That’s movie [expletive]. That stuff doesn’t really happen in real life. There’s two guys I’ve seen do it: Arturo Gatti and Frankie Edgar.

“What he did the last time and this time, he’s an amazing human being. He’s an incredible athlete, and he’s got a heart the size of this room.”

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